Slug casting machine



1933- L. E. MORRISON SLUG CASTING MACHINE Filed March 7, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR BY A ZQM TTORNEYS Nov. 21, 1933. E MORRlSCN 1,936,256

SLUG CASTING MACHINE Filed March 7, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR MM TTORNE VI Nov. 21, 1933. E. MORRISON SLUG CASTING MACHINE Filed March 7, 1932 5 Sheets-Shet 5 f INVENTOR TTORNEYJ Eli) Patented Nov. 21 1933 7 1,936,256 I SLUG CASTING MACHINE Luther ErMori-ison, New York, 'N; 1, assignor to v tionof New York :Mergenthaler Linotype vCompany, a corpora.-

Application March 7, 1932. 'Serial No. 597,193

22 Claims. (01. 199-.;.6.0.)

This invention relates to slug casting machines, wherein printing slugs or type bars are cast in a slotted mold'and delivered by, an, ejector advancing. from the rear against the edge of the slug.

In these machines, the molds are ;adjustable in length to produce slugs ofdifferent lengths, as forprinting columns or pages of different widths, andthe ejector employed is-theref ore constructed so that it may be varied'in width to correspond with changes in the length of the mold-slot.

For instance, as illustrated in U. -S. Letters Patent to John R. Rogers, No. 967,976, there is commonly employeda composite ejector'coinprising a series of blades arranged edge-to edgein contacting relation, and suitable'devices whereby any desired-number of blades can be connected with the ejector slide hile the others are left free and remain at rest. These ejector blades are quite thin, being made so to servefor the ejection of very thin slugaaswell asofthe thicker slugs.

In recent years, there has been a growing tendencyto increase the thickness of the printing slugsfand to such extent that the ejector above described issometimes ,found to be incapable of ejecting the slugs from themolds in a thoroughly satisfactory manner.. Thus, it frequently happens that theejector, because of its thinness, will embed itself in the bottom edgesof the slugs and fail -to eject them fullyfrom the'mold, or that, because of undue resistance ofieredby theslugs, the ejector blades or otherparts of themachine will be damaged in theact of ejection. These objections arise particularly'with the .largenorthicker slugs, Which are of the ribbed variety,

i. e., comprise a solid body portion; an overhang-' ing type-carrying portion, and a series of .ribs cast on the body portion and giving'support to the overhanging portion. V v

In the ejection of such ribbed slugs, the ejector is arranged to engage only with the solid body portion, and since such portion is located {W911 to one side of the central plane of the slugs,=the latter have a tendency to cant or tilt inthe mold and thereby offer greater resistance to ejection than in the case of thinner slugs Whosebody portions are located close'to or in the central plane. I

To overcome these objections, ejecting mechanism has'been proposed such-as that disclosed in my co-pending application, Serial No. v597,192, filed March '7, 1932, or such as that disclosed in the pendingapplication'of :F. C. Frolander, Serial No. 559,384, filed'August 26,?1931. In the former case, separate interchangeable .ejector sections of difierentefiective thicknesses are employed and means provided for selecting either section for independent use; while-in the latter case, a main ejector;sectionand oneor rhore supplemental ejector sectionsare employed together with means for selecting either the vmain section co for independent use or both the and sup.- plemental section or sections for conjointuse. In both instances, the selection of the ejector .sections is-effectedmanually andextrerne care must beobservedinorder to insure a correct setting es of the parts. t t The present invention contemplates -cert ain p men sin t eme hsnisme whe e the selection-of the ejector sections may be effected automaticallyso-thatthey will always cor- 7V0 respond to the selectedmold. To this end, means controlled by the interchange of the ;moldsare provided for effecting the interchange of the ct r ii s v In the accompanying drawings, the invention has been shown-merely-in preferred" form. and by way. of example, and obviouslyananychahges and mocliiicationsinay be made therein and inx its mede cfv application Without departing from the spirit of the invention. It should-be understood, 30 therefore, that the invention is not limited to any specific form or embodiment, except insofar assuch limitations are specified in the appended claims.

Fig. l-isa side elevation-partlybrokemayvay, of'van ejecting mechanism constructedand ;ope rable in accordance with one embodiment of-the invention;

fig. 2 is a detail perspective-view-showing the connections between the individual ejector blades and corresponding slide rods; .v

Fig. 3,is.,a longitudinalzsectiontaken on the Referring to the drawings:

line 3.3 of Fig. 1,.shoWingtheplain section of theiejector proper in. use and the actuating slide 9 in its forward position;

'Fig. 4 is :a'front elevation partly in section of certain-of the parts shown;in-Fig. 3; r

' Fig. 5 is a longitudinalsectionsirr ilarto Fig. 3 wi t ribb p an ed. se n 9 he ejectorproper in use;

Fig. ,6 is a front elevation of theparts shown' in-Fig.;5; t f

Fig. 'lisa side elevationsimilarxtoRig-l on a slightly enlarged ,scale. showing asecendpmbodimentof the invention;

Fig.,:8 ,is a longitudinal section taken on; the line-8-e8ofgFig. '7;

Fig.1) is .a sideelevation of certainparts shown 1 1,0

in the usual way by a manual adjustment of the,

disc about its axis and relative to its driving pinion (not shown). The mold A (Fig. 3) is of the regular unrecessed type, being formed with a cavity A having plain side walls and adapted for-the production of thin slugs; whereas the mold A (Figs. 5 and 6) is of the head-letter or recessed variety, being formed with a cavity A which is broken up by core sections and adapted for the production of thicker ribbed slugs. If any further information is desired as to the form or construction of the molds and slugs, reference may be had to the Hall Patent, No. 665,212.

The mold wheel 'A (see Figs. 3 and 4) is mounted for rotation upon the lateral arm A of a foreand-aft mold slide A which is moved forwardly and backwardly in suitable guideways to carry the active mold first, or at the time of casting, into and out of contact with the matrix line, and later, or at the time of ejection, into and out of operative relation to the trimming knives, all in the usual way.

The ejecting mechanism in both embodiments illustrated includes the ordinary actuating slide B, which is mounted for reciprocation in the mold slide A and operated in the regular way through a connecting link B from the main drive shaft of the machine.

The ejector proper, in the first or preferred embodiment (see Figs. 1 to 6, inclusive), comprises two ejector sections C and D arranged side by side and supported in a frame E, which is adjustable laterally to bring one or the other of said sections into use. The ejector section C is made up of a set of blades C arranged edge to edge in the regular way so as to produce collectively a composite blade of a given uniform thickness and capable of ejecting the thin unrecessed slugs from the mold A whereas, the ejector D is made up of a set of blades D D which differ in form so as to produce a composite blade of a greater effective thickness and capable'of ejecting thicker slugs of the recessed variety from the mold A The blades D of the section D are identical with the blades C of the section C, while the blades D thereof are formed with lateral ribs or flanges d of a predetermined width. As shown in Figs. 7 and 8, they blades D and D are disposed alternately one above the other and the flanges 03 are spaced apart so as to agree with the spacing of the slug ribs cast in the mold A The frame E (as best shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 5) is slidably mounted in a pocket or recess A formed in the mold slide A and is guided in its movements by means of tongue and groove connections E The movement of the frame E in one direction (toward the left according to Fig. 3) is opposed by a pair of compression springs A seated in corresponding recesses A formed in the mold slide and tending to move the frame E in the opposite direction into engagement with a pair of stop screws A which are mounted in fixed brackets A secured to the mold slide.

In the present instance, the adjustments of the frame E are effected automatically through means controlled by the rotary adjustments of the disc A in interchanging the molds A and A Such means (as best shown in Figs. 3, 5 and 6) consist merely of a single fore-and-aft lever 0 arranged alongside the frame F and operable by a cam piece P secured to the recessed mold A The lever 0 (see Fig. l) is pivoted on a vertically disposed hinge pin 0 between a pair of lugs A projecting laterally from the front end of the mold slide A The shorter arm 0 of the lever O is arranged in the path of the cam piece P, while the longer arm 0 thereof is arranged to engage a set screw e mounted in the contiguous side face of the frame F. The arrangement of the parts is suchthat, as the mold A is brought into use by a rotary adjustment of the disc A, the cam piece P is-adapted to engage the arm 0 of the lever 0 and through the longer arm 0 thereof push the frame E inwardly against the tension of the springs A to locate the ejector section Din the operative position (seeFig. 5). The plain mold A as may be observed (see Fig. 3), is devoid of a cam piece P or similar projection and will, therefore, clear and fail to actuate the lever 0 when, under an alternative adjustment of the disc'A, it is brought into use. Consequently, the frame E at such times will be pushed by the springs A outwardly into engagement with the stop screws A and-thus locate the ejector section C in the operative position.

The ejector sections'C and D are actuated by the ejector slide B through the medium of a single set of fore-and-ai't slide rods F and a vertical adjustable bar' G arranged to engage rectangular lugs f formed on the rear ends of the said rods. As the section C or the section D is brought into active position, connections between the individual blades thereof and the slide rods F are established by means of lugs f 'forined on the front ends of the said rods and corre-- spending notches c or 0), formed in the rear ends of'the blades C or D and D (see Fig. 2).

The construction of the ejector oractuating slide B, the bar G, and the means provided for adjusting said'bar, are similar in all respects to the corresponding mechanism used in the comm rcial linotype machines or as illustrated in the Rogers Patent No. 967,976,.before referred to. Thus, the bar G is mounted as usual to slide vertically in a grooved guideway 6 formed in the actuating slide B, tlie oppositeedges of the groove snugly engaging the opposite edges of the bar so that the latter is caused to move forwardly and backwardly with the actuating slide. At its lower end, the bar G is slidably supported upon a long fOre-and-aft rod G carried by a vertically adj able slide G which is operable by a hand lever G extended to the front of the machine.

By means of this arrangement, the bar G may be set in different positions to connect the actuating slide B with any desired number of the blades in either the ejector section C or the ejector section D, according to the adjusted position of the frame E or according to which section happens to be in use at the time. Consequently,-when the slide B is moved forward to expel the cast slug from, say, the mold A (Fig. 5), the bar G is moved with it, its forward edge engaging the lugs f on the rear ends of the ap propriate slides F, which are thus pushed forwardly and through the lugs f actuate the selected ejector blades D and D (see Fig. 5). During the return stroke ofthe actuating slide 13, a rib or shoulder b formed thereon, and located in advance of thelugs j, engagesthe lat-- a er andby such engagement draws back the slides F and the connected blades D and D Attention is nowdirected to Figs. '1 to 11, which are devoted to a second embodiment of the invention wherein the ejector proper is made up of a main section and a supplemental section, the main ejector section being adapted for independent use in the ejection'of thin slugs, and

for use conjointly with the supplemental section in the ejection of the thicker ribbed slugs. The exact construction of the ejector proper and the precise manner in which the sections thereof 00- operate are fully described in the Frolander application before referred to and to which reference may be had if desired. It will therefore sufiice to say here that the main ejector section comprises a series of vertically disposed blades H, any selected number of which may be con.- nected to the actuating slideB through the medium of a vertical adjustable bar J and that the supplemental ejector section comprises a series of horizontally disposed blades I arranged alongside the main blades so as to increase the effective thickness of the ejector as a whole, and which may also be connected to the actuating slide B through the medium of a supplemental bar J To be more explicit, the bar J is movable vertically with the bar J as the latteris adjusted but is also capable of slight vertical adjustment relatively to the bar J in making and breaking the operative connections between the individual blades I of the supplemental section and the actuating slide 13.

The adjustments of the bar J are effected manually and in theusual way by the operation of a hand lever J but the adjustments of the bar J according tothe present invention, are effected automatically through a train of connections controlled by the interchange of the molds A and A These connections (see Fig. 7) include a long fore-and-aft rock shaft J uponwhich both bars J and J receive support, and which is mounted in a vertical slide J controlled by the hand lever J As shown best in Fig. '7, the bar J at its lower end is connected to a' short sleeve J which is splined to the shaft J and adapted to slide back and forth thereon with the bar J during the reciprocation of the actuating slide B.

The sleeve J (see Figs. with a cam or eccentric J 6 for actuating the sup plernental oar J and upon which the lower end of said bar is directly engaged. A spring 7 seated against a lug on the bar movement of the bar J as effected by the cam J and holds it resiliently engaged therewith. Thus, by turning the shaft J 3 in opposite directions the bar J through the sleeve J andeccentric J will be raised and lowered to connect and disconnect the supplemental set of blades I with and from the actuating slide 13.

The rock shaft J is operated by a pair of vertically disposed rack bars K, K arranged to mesh at opposite sides with a pinion J" secured to the front end of the shaft, and which rack bars are mounted to reciprocate in suitable guideways K and E3. The two rack bars K, K are actuated by a cam plate L which is movable forwardly and backwardly with the mold slide A and arranged to engage in one or the other of notches k k formed in the upper ends of the rack bars. best shown in Figs. 8 and 10, the cam plate L is supportedfrom a block L upon a pair of pins L which project beyond the cam plate so as to carry small compression springs 1 The block L (see Fig; 10) is slidably mounted in a suitable sup-.

'7 and 9) is provided J resists the upward Asv port M and is slotted longitudinally'to' accommodate. a cam L againstv which the cam plateL is resiliently maintained under-the tension of the springs 1 The cam L is splined-to a vertically disposed rock shaft L which ispassed through the blockL and journaled at its opposite ends in fixed bearings L projecting from the face of the mold slide A With this arrangement, the cam plate L may be adjusted facewise by a partial rotation of the shaft Liand the cam L so asto stand in line with the notch k or the notch k of the rack bars K, K respectively; then, as the mold slide A is advanced preparatory to ejection, the cam plate L through its engagement with the upper wall of one of these notches is adapted to lift the corresponding rack bar K or K which in turn will rotate the fore-and-aft shaft J and through the eccentric ,J adjust the supplemental bar J 1 upwardly or downwardly according to the particular rack bar actuated. If the cam plate L happens to stand in the position shown in Fig. 8 and in line with the rack bar K the selecting bar J will be raised by the eccentric J 6 as the mold slide is advanced and thus connect the supplemental section I of the ejector tothe actuating slide B whereas, if the cam plate L occupies its other position of adjustment (indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 8) and in line with the rack bar K, the bar J will be lowered by the spring 7' under the control of the eccentric J and thus disconnect the supplemental section from the actuating slide.

' It may be stated at this point that in order to permit the adjustments of the supplemental bar J in any adjusted position of the main bar J, the rack bars K, 'K-, and their actuating means (including the cam plate L and the block L obtain support from the fore-and-aft rock shaft J the latter (as shown best in Fig. 7) being provided with a bracket member J 8 and a long vertical rod J secured to said member. The rod J is guided in fixed bearings J and carries at its upper endthe support M and the upper guideways K for the rack bars, which areflsecured to the support M. The lower guideways K are formed on the bracketmember J which is extended forwardly for this purpose (see Fig. '7)

To complete the train of connections and bring about the adjustments of the bar J automatically as proposed, the rock shaft L is actuated by a vertically disposed lever B which is controlled by a cam piece Q secured to the mold A The lever R. is pivoted at r to the mold slide and arranged in close relation to the back of the mold. The shorter arm R of the lever R is formed with a beveled cam surface 7' located in the path of the cam piece Q, and the longerarm R thereof is connected by a link R to acrank arm L fast to the vertical rock shaft L A pull spring R connected to the longer arm of the lever R. and

anchored to the mold slide, tends to move the lever into engagement with a stop pin 1 and through the link R turn the shaft L in a clockwise direction. However, as the mold A is brought into operative position, the cam piece Q is adapted by its engagement with the beveled surface 1 to move the lever R away from the stop pin against the tension of the spring R and through the link R turn the rock shaft L in the opposite direction. At such times, the cam plate L (as shown in Fig. 8) will be adjusted by the cam L into position to raise the rack bar K and through the fore-and-aft shaft J connect ing the selected or active section the supplemental blades I of the ejector to the actuating slide 3 so that they may be used conjointly with the main blades H.

' The regular molds A are devoid of the cam piece Q, and hence when they are substituted for the molds A the pull spring R will be allowed to act and, as a result, the cam plate L will be adjusted under the control of the cam L into a position to raise the other rack bar K and through the shaft J disconnect the supplemental blades I from the ejector slide B so that the main blades H may be used alone.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim is:

1. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a plurality of molds for producing slugs of difierent thicknesses, means for selecting one or another of said molds for use, a slug ejecting mechanism including an ejector proper variable in thickness, and automatic means for varying the efiective thickness of the ejector according to the particular mold in use.

2. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a plurality of molds for producing slugs of different thicknesses and interchangeable in operative position with each other, a slug ejecting mechanism including an ejector proper variable in thickness, and means controlled by the interchange of the molds for varying the'efiective thickness of the ejector, as required.

3. A combination as specified in claim 1 including separate'means for varying the effective width of the ejector.

4. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a plurality of molds for producing slugs of dilferent thicknesses and interchangeable in operative position with oneancther, slug ejecting mechanism including a plurality ofv distinct ejector sections of different efiec'tive thicknesses and also interchangeable in operative position with each other, and means controlled by the interchange of the molds for effecting a corresponding interchange of the ejector sections.

5. In a slug casing machine, the combination of a plurality of molds for producing slugs of different thicknesses and interchangeable in 0perative position with one another, slug ejecting mechanism including an ejector proper having a plurality of ejector sections of dii ent effective thickness, a movable supporting f1 ior sections, and means controlled by the inte: ...ange of the molds for adjusting the support to bring the appropriate ejector section into use.

6. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a plurality of molds for producing slugs of different thicknesses and interchangeable in 010-- erative position with one another, slug ejecting mechanism including an ejector proper having two composite ejector sections of different effective thicknesses, means controlled by the interchange of the molds for selecting the appropriate ejector section, an actuating slide. common to both sections, and adjustable means for connectto the actuating slide. I

7. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a plurality of molds for producing slugs of different thicknesses and interchangeable in operative position with one another, slug ejecting mechanism including an ej ctor proper having two composite ejector sections of different effective thicknesses, means controlled by the interchange of the molds for selecting the appropriate ejector section, and means for varying the eliective width of the selected section to correspond to the length of the slot in the active mold.

8. In a slug casting machine, the. combination of a plurality of molds differing in form so as to produce plain and ribbed slugs, a mold carrier adjustable to bring any selected mold into use, slug ejecting mechanism comprising two ejector sections differing in form to correspond to the respective molds, and means controlled by the adjustments of the carrier for selecting the appropriate ejector section.

9. In a slug casting machine, the combination of molds of different forms and interchangeable in operative position with each other, slugejecting mechanism including an ejector proper having two ejector sections difiering in form to correspond to the respective molds, an adjustable supporting frame whereon said sections are slid ably mounted, and means arranged to cooperate with the individual molds for adjusting the supporting frame automatically. 7

10. A. combination specified in claim 9, characterized by the fact that the said supporting frame is moved in onedirection by a spring and in the opposite direction by a lever controlled a cam piece s cured to one of the molds.

11. In a'slug casting machine, the combination of a plurality of molds i r producing slugs of different thicknesses and interchangeable in operative position with each other, a slug ejecting mechanism including an ejector proper having a main ejector section and a supplemental ejector section arranged alongside thereof to increase the effective thickness of the ejector as a whole, and automatic means controlled by the interchange of the molds for selecting either the main ejector section alone, or both the main and supplemental sections, as rcouired.

12. In a slug casting machine, combination of a plurality of molds for producing slugs of different thicknesses and interchangeable in operative position with each other, a slug ejecting the interchange of the molds for connecting and disconnecting the supplemental section to and from the slide, as required.

13. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a plurality of molds for producing slugs of different thicknesses and interchangeable in operative position with each othen'slug ejecting mechanism comprising a set of ejector blades, a supplemental set of ejector blades, a main bar adjustable to connect any selected number of blades in the main set to the actuating slide, a supplemental b i carried by the main bar and adjustable relatively th eto to connect a corresponding number of in the supplemental set to the actuating slide, means operable at will for effecting the adjustrn the main bar, and automatic means controlled by the interchange or" the molds for effecting the adjustments of the supplemental bar.

l l. In a slug casting machine, the combination of a plurality of molds for producing slugs of different thicknesses and interchangeable in operative position with each other, a mold slide, slug ejecting mechanism comprising a main set of ejector blades, a supplementalset or" ejector blades arranged alongside thereof, an actuating.

slide mounted in the mold slide and common to both sets of blades, a main bar adjustable to connect any selected number of blades in the main set to the actuating slide, a supplemental bar carried by the main bar and adjustablerelatively thereto to connect a corresponding number of blades in the supplemental set to the actuating slide, means operable at will for effecting the adjustment of the main bar, a rotatable cam or eccentric for effecting the adjustment of the supplemental bar, a pair of rack bars for rotating the cam, and means operable by the mold slide and controlled by the interchange of the molds for actuating the rack bars.

15. In or for a slug casting machine, a slug ejecting mechanism including in combination an ejector proper permanently mounted in the machine, and means operative automatically for varying the effective thickness of the ejector.

16. In or for a slug casting machine, a slug ejecting mechanism including in combination an ejector proper permanently mounted in the machine, automatic means for varying the effective thickness of the ejector, and separate means for varying the effective Width thereof.

1'7. In or for a slug casting machine, a slug ejecting mechanism including in combination an ejector proper having a plurality of distinct ejector sections of different effective thicknesses, and automatic means for selecting one or another of said sections for independent use, as required.

18. In or for a slug casting machine, a'slug ejecting mechanism including in combination an ejector proper having a plurality of distinct ejector sections, a movable support therefor, and automatic means for adjusting the support to bring any selected'section into position for independent use.

19. In or for a slug casting machine, a slug ejecting mechanism including in combination ane ector proper havingftwo composite ejector sections of difierentefiectivethicknesses, automatic means for selecting either section for independent use, and means for varying the effective Width of the active section.

20. In or for a slug casting machine, a slug ejecting mechanism including in combination two sets of ejector blades, automatic means for selecting either set for independent use, an actuating slide common to both sets, and manually controlled means for connecting different selected numbers of blades of the active set to the said slide.

21. In or for a slug casting machine, a slug ejecting mechanism including in combination a main ejector section, a supplemental ejector section arranged alongside thereof to increase the effective thickness of the ejector as a whole, and automatic means for selecting the main ejector section for independent use or for selecting both the main and supplemental sections for use conjointly, as required.

22. In or for a slug casting machine, a slug ejecting mechanism including in combination a main ejector section, a supplemental ejector section arranged alongside thereof to increase the effective thickness of the ejector as a Whole, a common actuating slide, manually. controlled means for connecting the main section to said slide, and means operable automatically for connecting and disconnecting the supplemental section to and from the actuating slide, as required.

LUTHER E. MORRISON. 

